Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).

Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).

Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).

Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).

Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).

Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).

Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).

Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).

Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).

Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).

Collector's Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge)

Image of the original Viewing Bridge, located on Level 2. Projector and framed painting are part of Kim Pieters' exhibition – What Is Life?

Location: Adam Art Gallery, Wellington

2014

Photo by Shaun Waugh

Wall Label:

Eddie Clemens

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) 2014

video installation

courtesy of the artist

Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).

Collector's Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge)

Image of the original Viewing Bridge, looking back towards the Kirk Gallery (Adam Art Gallery)

Location: Adam Art Gallery, Wellington

2014

Photo by Shaun Waugh

Wall Label:

Eddie Clemens

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) 2014

video installation

courtesy of the artist

Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).

Collector's Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge)

Location: Adam Art Gallery, Wellington

2014

Photo by Shaun Waugh

Wall Label:

Eddie Clemens

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) 2014

video installation

courtesy of the artist

Eddie Clemens’ website features a photograph of the artist as a boy of around twelve, smiling and giving the thumbs up beside an impassive Arnold Schwarzenegger in full character as the Terminator, a futuristic cyborg in human guise come to protect another young boy, John Connor, humanity’s only hope in the impending war with the Machines. This charming but implausible montage speaks volumes about the artist’s interests and modus operandi. Here, Clemens’ cut-and-paste aesthetic meets the internet-generation’s immersion in visual culture. Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is a larger manifestation of the same processes and impulses, with the Adam Art Gallery itself as the setting for an encounter between digital technology, art practice, and the movies.

For his video installation Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) Clemens has constructed an exact replica of the mezzanine bridge overlooking the long Chartwell Galleries. This is both a literal base for his projection—like the bannister from the Papakura Art Gallery, where this work was first presented—and a prop in his homemade iMovie. This particular architectural detail and the vertiginous spaces it spans spark connections to the James Cameron movies he grew up with: the bridge of the Titanic where Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio embrace; the inky depths of The Abyss, the metal flooring that morphs into the foot of the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, and so on. Film and architecture become fluidily interchangeable, and in the new space they create, Clemens inserts his own antic human presence. We see his feet and hands clumsily trying to reconstruct specific shots, to replicate some of the computer-generated and non-CGI special effects the filmmaker deployed. Clemens relishes these ‘glitches’, the moments when technology falters. It is as if these are where techno-fiction tumbles into the real and where humanity may yet retain its edge.

The construction of the viewing bridge has been made possible with the generous support of Athfield Architects.

Collector’s Edition Glitch (Viewing Bridge) is the third of three one-work installations in RELOAD, a moving-image series for the Kirk Gallery. Clemens’ work follows Shannon Te Ao’s Follow the Party of the Whale (27 May–29 June) and Is a Museum a Battlefield? by Hito Steyerl (4 July–10 August).